Online Medical Diagnosis

[Anxious Abi]

Does it help, or does it hinder?

For a while I have tried my best to avoid spending a lot of time researching my symptoms online, mainly because I have seen the effect it has had on my sister. She cannot let a pain or ache go by without relentlessly checking the internet to determine what she may have.
I assume there is a good side to these sites, making information available to people, helping people identify possible problems.
The down side being that she is constantly convinced there is something seriously wrong. A lot of symptoms can be a number of things, not always the most serious, yet suffering with anxiety I know how difficult it can be to drop these ideas.

Does having all this information at your fingertips help you, or aggravate your anxieties?
Let me know
Abi

[Enduronman]

Personally? I think that it has created a spike and surge in people who will quickly become hypochondriacs. Especially if they're a type of person that had already tended to worry about everything to begin with. It may be helpful, to a certain degree but then quickly goes out of control if those sites suggest that if you have this, that, those, in this spot then you have this, that, and should seek immediate medical assistance. A higher percentage of the time, this information is highly inaccurate and then causes the person on the other end of this line to freak out. Which then of course leads to omg, I'm going to die. 95% of the time, it isn't the case at all...

Yes, it will aggravate peoples anxieties greatly and that potential can be catastrophic friend.

E-Man.